The present invention relates to light boxes for illuminating fiberoptic light bundles, and is directed more particularly to a nose adapter which allows light boxes to be used with a variety of different sizes and types of fiberoptic light bundles.
Because of their effectiveness and ease of use, fiberoptic illumination systems have become widely used in medical examination devices such as otoscopes, episcopes and the like. The fiberoptic light bundles used in such systems are able to provide bright illumination over considerable distances because light is transmitted therethrough by the highly efficient process of internal reflection. Such fiberoptic light bundles also have a flexibility which makes them easy to manipulate and steer, properties which are particularly important in instruments such as endoscopes which are used inside of a patient's body.
Because of the wide variety of applications in which fiberoptic light bundles are used, they are made in a wide range of sizes such as, for example, 2.5 to 12.5 min. In addition to being made in different sizes, fiberoptic light bundles are manufactured with a variety of different types of fiberoptic connectors.
Prior to the present invention, a number of attempts have been made to develop light box adapters (often referred to as "nose adapters") which allow light boxes to be used with different sizes and types of connectors. One type of such adapter includes adapters of the so-called "universal" type. In adapters of this type a set of spring loaded pins is used to clampingly engage male fiberoptic connectors of all different sizes. Examples of adapters of this type are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,232,934 (Feinbloom) and 4,397,523 (Feinbloom). One disadvantage of adapters of this type is that the amount of clamping force applied to the fiberoptic connector is greater for large diameter bundles than for small diameter bundles, causing the forces necessary to insert and remove the connector to be different for different sizes of connectors.
Another type of light box adapter includes adapters which make use of rotatable turrets having female connectors of a number of different sizes. One example of such a turret equipped light box is that sold under the product designation MT-150 by CUDA Products Corp. of Jacksonville, Fla. Disadvantages of adapters of this type include their relatively high cost, the fact that they accommodate a relatively small number of male connectors, and the fact that a separate turret must be provided for each different type of connector.
Thus, a need has existed for a light box adapter which is inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use, and able to accommodate a number of different sizes and types of light bundles.